During her reign, news surfaced that the Klingons were developing a new weapon which posed a threat to the Empire. Sato first ordered the ISS Indomitable and ISS Thermopylae to investigate. Following the destruction of the ISS Thermopylae during a Klingon ambush, the ISS Constellation, under the command of CommodoreRobert April, was then ordered to locate and secure the weapon for the empress.

The Empress had previously been the target of an assassination attempt by one of her senior military advisers, which was thwarted by Nathan Thorpe, a member of her personal security detail, single-handedly. In the process, he sustained serious wounds but managed to kill the duplicitous admiral. In gratitude, she presented Thorpe with a Japanese katana sword as well as placing him in command of the Constellation. (TOS - Mirror Universeshort story: "Ill Winds")